


All the Small Things

by Lafeae



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Birthday Fluff, Drabble Series, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, POV First Person, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-28
Updated: 2019-01-28
Packaged: 2019-10-18 01:14:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,834
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17571515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lafeae/pseuds/Lafeae
Summary: a series of moments spent over the course of Joey’s birthday between him and Kaiba.





	All the Small Things

**Author's Note:**

> This was a week long Drabble series across Tumblr for a Kaijou challenge :3 hope you enjoy. Beware tho....it’s all in Joey-speak.

* * *

**1\. Dawn**

* * *

I lay next to Seto in the early mornin’ with my arms outstretched, beggin’ him to come back to me. I don’t fuss too much. I guess ‘cause it don’t do me any good. Seto’ll get up whether or not I say or do anythin’. But God, does the man look like somethin’ poetic in the mornin’. Handsome an’ rugged an’ au naturale.

I didn’t say it was a good poetic.

Ma said I was never too good with those poetic kinds of words, but I know what I see. Skin o’ poreclain. Eyes o’ sapphire. Hair o’ chestnut. All that jazz wrapped up in a neat Armani tie. Wish I could say bow, but Seto’d rather drop dead than actually be caught wearin’ one.

Whatever. 

He looks good. Especially gettin’ up before dawn an’ headin’ to the bathroom. I stretch out my arms an’ peek with one eye to watch his butt as he goes. He knows I do it. He doesn’t say nothin’.

I smile an’ wait for him to come back. He sits on the bed next to me while he does his tie, and he leans over to kiss me when he’s done. Gently. Thinks I’m asleep, until I grab him an’ pull him back to bed. Sometimes...I can get those clothes back off. Today, I just hold him for a minute, takin’ in his Earthy cologne.

“You should call in,” I say. He tuts, kisses me to shut me up, and wiggles his way out. “Work won’t fall apart.”

“You’re impossible.”

“And? C’mon.” 

He looks at me. Looks at the door. Looks back again. Most of the time he gets up and tells me ‘I love you’, or ‘I’ll be back’, or ‘don’t cause trouble’.

But today he lays back down and cuddles with me. I smile, ‘cause I know he’s only doin’ it ‘cause it’s me.

Victory to Joey Wheeler. 

* * *

** 2\. Mid-morning **

* * *

We stay in bed ‘til almost ten. I fall asleep, curled into his side, while he pokes his phone or whatever. He’s still gonna work. He gets all fidgety when he can’t.

Pretty sure he’s checked his phone real quick even when we’ve gotten busy. Which that was annoying, sure, but...I guess it be worse. He’s never actually stopped us, so I don’t really care. But the day he does...

Nah. He won’t. He likes it too much. 

I like to think I get Seto. As much as anyone can get him. Maybe. His whole thing is a big costume. I hear people call it a ‘mask’ a lot, but it’s more than that. He’s got this whole suit that he steps in for work or for public affairs. But he steps out at home.

Somewhere around eleven we’re at the breakfast nook. He tries to cook, but he’s kinda bad. The eggs are brown-ish. The ham is a little tough. “I think ya made a new kind of rubber,” I say.

“Shut up and eat.” 

“You first.” 

He happily takes a mouthful of his own eggs, chews dramatically, and swallows. “There. Eat.” 

I laugh at him. He’s so stupid, sometimes. I fuckin’ love it. Seein’ the world’s smartest man be a little stupid. He wouldn’t do that for no one else and I know it.

I still flick a forkful of egg at him when he sits down. He plucks it off his shirt and throws it back at me. “You’re being childish,” he says.

“Ya gonna stop me?” 

”I may.” 

“No, ya won’t.” 

Seto smirks. “Keep it up and I’ll go to work.”

I pout and his smirk becomes a smile, so I start eating. It may taste bad, but I appreciate it. And I appreciate him for makin’ it. ‘Cause he don’t do it all the time, only on special occasions.

And I can’t help but laugh. 

* * *

** 3\. Noon **

* * *

At around noon, I tell Seto that we gotta get out of the manor. It may be big an’ all, but hangin’ around it all day can get a little stuffy. ‘Specially since he’s taken the time to actually stay home from work for once.

After a bit o’ goadin’, he agrees.

It’s snowed since last night. I seen it in the windows, because with the sun out it makes all of downstairs super bright. We get all bundled up knowin’ we’ll be walkin’ around town, since I told him we should hit up a coupla shops for fun.

He looks all nice in a charcoal grey dress coat. There’s jeans on underneath it though. It’s not very often he goes casual. Like casual casual. Somethin’ like jeans an’ t-shirts or nice sweaters. I’ve got about four layers of old shirts on, an’ I pull my socks up over my jeans ‘cause the snow’s ankle deep.

Outside, I slide down the stairs, waitin’ for him as Roland pulls car around.

There’s a few inches of snow packed up on the railing of the stairs. Jus’ enough, I figure. It’s all soft an’ wet in my hands. Don’t take long for me t’ pack it together an’ chuck it at Seto, hittin’ him in the chest.

He’s back t’ fiddlin’ with the scarf, so I help wind it around his neck an’ tuck it in his coat. 

He stops mid-step and’ glares at me. Barely outside, an’ his cheeks an’ nose are already rose-red. He’s fiddlin’ with his scarf, but he drops it to make the quickest snowball I ever seen an’ launch it at me. I duck down an’ end up fallin’ into the snow. My jeans are immediately soaked.

He pauses, an’ I take the opportunity make another snowball an’ hock it at him. An’ again. An’ again. Roland’s tryin’ not t’ laugh at us while we run around the car, usin’ it as a shield for our snowball war.Eventually, we both stop ‘cause we can’t breathe, winded from the laughin’ an’ the runnin’.

I walk stagger up to him, brushin’ any unmelted snow off his coat an’ outta his hair.

Seto smiles. Man, those smiles are somethin’. Make him look all innocent an’ shit. I see why he don’t do it very often. Makes it all the more worth it.

He leans over for a kiss ‘fore takin’ my hand an’ leadin’ me to the car so we can make our way into downtown Domino.

* * *

**4\. Mid-Afternoon**

* * *

Walkin’ around town is brisk an’ nice, even if it’s fuckin’ cold. We don’t complain, but Seto makes us stop so he can get a hot tea, an’ I know he’s holdin’ onto it more than drinkin’ it.

We weave in an’ out of a bunch of little shops in the main plaza, lookin’ at just about anythin’ an’ everythin’ they offer. Clothes, electronics, music, games. Hell, even furniture. We ain’t really lookin’. We’re jus’ talkin’ while we browse, makin’ use of time our busy schedules don’t usually let us have. Believe it or not, walkin’ an’ talkin’ like this is better’n sex.

Sometimes. 

I take his hand an’ pull him into an old consignment shop. 

“I had this dream where we were both in a boat,” I say as we look. “Couldn’t tell where we were ‘cause it was all foggy; I don’t even know how we got in a boat.”

“Mm.” 

“Think it means somethin’?” 

“Depends,” he replies. “Who was rowing?” 

I’m pickin’ up little knick-knacks while we talk, showin’ them off to him. “You, I think.”

“Dream psychology would probably say it means one of us is steering the relationship and the other is along for the ride,” he says after thinkin’ for a second.

“Guess that makes sense.” I rub away a glob of snot off my lip. “But like...I’m wonderin’ why it was a boat.”

“That’s the hang up?” 

“Can’t it be a car?” I ask. Seto shrugs. I don’t care if it means anythin’. I just like t’ talk. Deep or shallow, long or short. I think he likes it, too. “I wanna know where the hell we were goin’.”

“I doubt the destination matters.” 

I roll my eyes. “You doubt everythin’.” 

”One of us has to.” 

I mouth his words as dramatically as I can, an’ Seto roughly nudges his shoulder into mine. I almost drop some old glass angel, but we save it at the last second, his hands gripped around mine. I blush, and slowly let it go. “Heh. Prolly should buy this since it didn’t break.”

“If you want to.” 

“I dunno. There’s a lot more shops I wanna look in.” 

Seto shrugs and sips the tea. “I’ve got plenty more money.”

“I ain’t worried about that,” I say. He pretends he isn’t listening, but I can see he is by the way his nose curls. I set the angel back on the table. “I’m sure I’ll find somethin’ special I want for today. Or you’ll surprise me. Right?”

“What’s so special about today?” he asks.

For a second, I think he’s serious. He’s got that hard-to-read face goin’ on. But I see him smirkin’ behind the plastic rim of the thermal cup. “Asshole.”

Seto rolls his eyes. I head outside, pretendin’ that I’m mad, an’ I wait for him to finally meander out after a few minutes. For a guy with long legs, he can be slow as hell.

I open my mouth to berate him, but I forget what I’m gonna say as soon as he takes my hand. So I start talkin’ about the boat again, and Seto groans. Whatever. We’re walkin’ an’ talkin’. S’all that matters.

* * *

**5\. Sunset**

* * *

It’s weird, ya know? Life an’it’s paths and stuff. Ya never know who you’re gonna meet or where you’re gonna end up. People talk a lot ‘bout destiny, though I can’t really say what I think or not. Jury’s out, prolly always will be.

If ya told me four years ago that I’d be sittin’ across from Seto Kaiba in some hole’n the wall Indian place havin’ dinner, I’d prolly sock you in the face. He definitely would have. Without a doubt.

I think both of us sorta get surprised by ourselves at times. We don’t say it, we jus’ look up at each other after a long quiet an’ stare. I think it’s longing, romantic, cute. Whatever they wanna say it is. He thinks it’s weird.

“Stop,” he says. I’ve done it again at dinner.

“What?” 

“Staring. It’s rude.” 

“Starin’ at ya is rude now?” I ask. 

Seto scoops around his plate and keeps eatin’. He don’t explain himself, though I think it’s ‘cause he ain’t used to bein’ looked at like that. Romantic and stuff. Mokuba’s different. He looks up t’ Seto admirably. Me? I jus’ look at the everythin’ an’ think about how this was so impossible when we were teenagers an’ it makes me grin like I’m somethin’ stupid.

I finish up my curry when his cell phone rings. Part of me wants him to’ not answer. He does anyways, an’ even looks across at me, puts up his pointer finger, an’ gets up from the table.

I don’t wanna be disappointed, but even ‘fore he gets back I know we’re leavin’. I been with him too long not t’ know that look.

“C’mon, Joseph.” 

“Sup?” 

“Something’s come up. We need to go.”

I groan. Even though I know, I still groan. “Can’t it like...not, today?”

Seto shakes his head. “Don’t argue.” 

“I ain’t. I’m jus’ disappointed.” 

Seto pays the bill and pulls me outta the restaurant. I’m still moanin’, but he won’t say anythin’. I slip my hand outta his.

“Tell ‘im t’ fuck off. For me. Jus’ for today. If ya do nothin’ else for me today, do that.”

He ain’t listenin’. It’s a long walk back through downtown Domino go get back to the car, an’ he’s gotta force me in. It’s one thing t’ leave, its another that he’s takin’ me hostage while he drives towards KaibaCorp. HQ.

I sigh. It was good while it lasted. 

* * *

**6**. **Dusk**

* * *

Waitin’ in KaibaCorp. ain’t all that glamorous. It’s a pretty building, don’t get me wrong, but inside it’s just...an office.

Even the executive area is bland. It’s all modern an’ Feng shui an’ stuff with nice art, plants, some fine ol’ mahoganey desks where the secretary an’ someone else sit. It smells like hot paper. 

I know the place pretty well. Sometimes, I help Seto out in the office when tournament season’s slow, but he’s hesitant. Prolly ‘cause we don’t actually get much done when I’m hangin’ out.

He holes up in his office for a while—the little digital lock tells me I can’t go in. I’m gonna die starin’ at the dusky sunset.

What a way to spend a birthday.

Don’t get me wrong, we’d been havin’ fun. Breakfast, shoppin’, hangin’ out. I guess that’s all I can ask for. I never expect much. I don’t ask anythin’ of Seto more than his time, because I don’t want anythin’ more than just him. It means a lot to me that he took some time off for me. Even a little.

That don’t mean it’s still not annoyin’. But whatever.

After about half an hour later, when the sun’s all the way down an’ I’m nearly asleep, the door to his office unlocks and drifts open.

“Come inside, Joseph. It’ll be just another minute.”

I yawn. “Whatever ya say. Ya get what ya needed fixed?”

“You could say that.”

I shuffled towards his office, but he’s already walkin’ inside.

In his office, there’s a dim light in the middle of his desk. Candle-light, not the dull glow of a computer screen. There’s boxes laid across his desk in the shadows. Far as I can I tell, he’s pushed everythin’ away for the little set-up.

“What’s all this?” 

“Look and find out.”

Seto’s quiet and lingerin’ close, hands fiddlin’ with one another as I take in everythin’. There’s got to be a least thirty or more boxes an’ little bags all wrapped in bows and paper. But I can’t tell, ‘cause they’re all neatly stacked on each other like a castle. In the centre though, there’s a little cake. Looks hand-made, icing’s a little uneven, but the letterin’ is all centred an’ pretty.

If Seto did it, an’ I assume he did but don’t ask, I imagine him over the counter agonisin’ as he carefully scrawls letters in the icing. Seems like him. All perfect. 

 _Happy Birthday Joseph_ , it reads.

I’m havin’ a hard time controllin’ the hiccup in my chest, an’ I cover my mouth with my hand. It ain’t jus’ the cake. It’s the little angel sittin’ beside it with a small piece of ribbon tied around it.

I pick it up, look it over. Same one from the consignment shop earlier.

“Seto..?”

In the candlelight he looks young. Scared. There’s a nervous tick in his mouth that ain’t quite a smile. It flickers away.

“I rushed us from the restaurant before you could order dessert,” Seto says. “Otherwise you’d have made yourself sick on the kulfi.”

I show him the angel. “An’ this?” 

He motions towards the rest of the boxes. I wanna ask, but he doesn’t seem to want t’ answer, so I start openin’ the rest. 

One by one, little trinkets and knick-knacks line the desk. I sit down t’ admire the army of small things. Toys. Weird clothes. Odd instruments for the kitchen, hobby things I’d been curious about. Jewellery I ain’t too brave to wear in public. 

All of ‘em had a slip of paper inside with a date, sometimes an hour. Shop where it came from. The tears well up an’ my throat goes raw tryin’ to think of what to say. I know what it is...but I can’t wrap my head around it.

“You...I...all this is...”

Seto don’t interrupt. He’s pulled a chair around and sat with me, cuttin’ out pieces of the cake and handin’ me one. I can’t eat. Can’t really think neither.

“Why?”

Seto shrugs. “You don’t like it?”

“I do! I jus’...” I stare at the angel sittin’ at the front. “Shit man, I don’t know what’s goin’ on in my head. I can’t believe ya kept track of this stuff. I mean, jeez. We go out all the time. I show ya things I think are stupid all the time.”

“Things you want.”

“Sometimes.”

“Things you won’t buy yourself.”

“Don’t wanna waste the money.”

Seto cuts off a piece of cake with is fork and passes it to me. I forget I got cake, but I eat off his fork. It’s good. A little dry. Least it ain’t burnt.

“It’s not a waste of you find value in it,” Seto says. He’s like some soothsayer. Easy for him, I guess, but I forget sometimes that it ain’t jus’ me. It’s us. Been us for a little while now.

We sit in silence, an’ I look at his shoes while I muster up the courage t’ jus’ cry in front of him. 

He scoots closer an’ moves the cakes outta the way. I press my forehead into his shoulder.

Its weird. It’s like he’s catalogued our relationship, our time. It’s so rare on days like today. But he’s got it all. It’s all out in the desk jus’ for me. A memory with an item. I always think he enjoys it, but I never know.

He kisses me on top of my head.

“Do you like it?”

I rub my nose on my wrist. “Yeah.”

I pull him into a hug an’ stay there for a long time, listenin’ to him breathe, feelin’ him squeeze me every so often. I squeeze back. 

“I love you...”I mutter into his shoulder.

“Love you too, Joseph.”

I pull myself together an’ straighten up. He offers me his handkerchief. I take it an’ wipe my nose. He hands me back my cake.

“You did miss a box,” Seto says. 

“S’alright. I’ll get it when I’m done eatin’. ‘Kay?”

“It’s your birthday.”

But there’s somethin’ curious in him. He looks off to the desk before continuin’ t’ eat. I don’t know what the other gift is, but I’m excited. Because he’s still nervous, maybe even more than before, and I wonder why. 

* * *

**7\. Midnight**

* * *

“I don’t want to share you,” Seto says.

“Whaddya mean?” I ask, mouth still full o’ cake. I’m on my third slice.

“The nerd herd demands I release you after this. It’s why they haven’t called.”

I guess I didn’t notice. Not until he says somethin’. “Ya didn’t ruin a surprise, did ya?”

Seto shrugs. “They didn’t say it was a surprise. They just want you to meet them at Burger World at eight.”

I look at the clock on the wall ‘fore jumpin’ up, nearly spillin’ cake all over. I grab his arm. “We’re gonna be late.”

Seto slips out. “Just you, Joseph.”

“Aw, c’mon.” 

Seto shakes his head an’ begins to clean up his desk, organisin’ all the little gifts. I grab a few of them—a jade bracelet, a mood ring, an’ the angel. He kisses me on the cheek. 

“Go on,” he urges. “Just be back at the estate by midnight.”

“Am I gonna turn into a pumpkin?” I snort.

Seto doesn’t answer, an’ he goes about his business while I try an’ goad him, but it don’t work. He tunes me out. Whatever, I guess. He’s a little mad, I think, but he ain’t stoppin’ me neither. Step in the right direction, not bein’ all selfish. Even if I like him bein’ selfish of me.

I spend the next few hours hangin’ with friends. Share a few drinks with Yugi and Honda, play at an ol’ arcade before headin’ back to his place.

I sorta explain them the things Seto gave me, showin’ off the bracelet. It’s hard to put into words jus’ how special it is. They kind of get it, nod an’ smile. I think it’s an us thing, an’ they don’t really get it. Then again, they don’t really get our relationship, either.

Heh. As if I do.

I tell ‘em I’m tired at around eleven thirty, an’ I take a cab back home. Lights are still on in the manor, mostly downstairs. The entire ride home I’m thinkin’ about what the ‘last gift’ might be. Prolly is gettin’ busy. I sorta have a thing for birthday sex—can’t say why. Somethin’ special about it. An’ I like the idea of Seto waitin’ for me all nude on the bed.

But my hopes are dashed. He’s sittin’ on the couch typin’ away at somethin’ an’ drinkin’ wine. He barely looks up when I sit down next to him an’ cuddle into his side.

We prolly sit quiet like that ‘til it’s a little past midnight. I drift off some. Ain’t like I’ve done anythin’, but it’s been sorta emotional.

Seto pats my thigh an’ sets his laptop on the coffee table. I rouse an’ stretch out my shoulders while he digs somethin’ outta his pocket. He plops it in my lap.

“Whazzis?”

“The gift you forgot.”

“Oh, yeah.”

It looks pretty plain. Flat little box in a red bow. I pull the lid up an’ there’s a note on the top of it.

 

_05/27, 6:42 PM—Le Marché. You said you liked this. You casually mentioned what it would be like to get married when you looked at it, but then acted like you were just joking._

_I knew you weren’t just joking. You had never been more serious when you said it, and you had never mentioned it before or since._

_Perhaps you thought I’d be angry, so you were nervous. Either way, it was another gift amongst the many you looked at and refused yourself, though this was the first where I started picking them up. It seemed to be the best place._

_I hope the feelings still stand._

_-Seto._

 

I stare at the simple, dark titanium band. It’s prolly cheap, but it’s the one I looked at.

I chuckle. “Ya forgot me mentionin’ I din’t like...want it to be a big thing or on my birthday or somethin’ cheesy like that.” 

Dramatically, Seto checks his watch. “It’s seven after midnight. It is not your birthday.”

I elbow him in the ribs. “Asshole. Technically don’t count.” 

“We could get a lawyer involved.” 

I hold my breath an’ pull the ring out. I stare at it so long it blurs, though I realise it’s ‘cause more tears happenin’. Though they’re different than earlier.

“So?” He asks.

“So what?”

He holds his palm out, an’ I give him the ring while slowly nodding’. He slips it back on my finger. I fall over into his chest.

“Now what...?” I ask, feelin’ lost.

He mulls it over for a second. “Bed?”

I nod an’ take his hand t’ follow him up t’ bed. Yeah. This is ‘bout as good as it gets.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed the sappiness! :3


End file.
